DE 197 24 427 A1 shows a motor vehicle body in which one lateral wall includes is composed of an inner and an outer lateral wall unit. The inner lateral wall unit encompasses a C-pillar inner wall, and the outer lateral wall unit encompasses a C-pillar outer wall. In this conventional motor vehicle body, the inner lateral wall unit must initially be fastened to a central part of the body. Thereafter, the edges of the outer lateral wall unit must be fastened to the inner one, since given a reversed assembly sequence, the outer wall unit covers those portions of the inner lateral wall unit at which the latter must be welded with the central part, thereby preventing a welding tool from accessing these areas.
If the motor vehicle body is exposed to a deformation load from a lateral direction during an accident, in particular at the level of the beltline, strong forces arise at the boundary between the relatively stiff lower part of the passenger compartment and the upper part that is stabilized only by the pillars bearing the roof and can be deformed much more easily, which can cause the lateral wall to buckle and cave in. While the lateral wall can be stiffened by using material with an enlarged wall thickness, this is undesirably associated with increased material costs and, given the increased vehicle mass, a rise in fuel consumption.